A little more than a year in the making, Fostering Hope is a weekly class for women who either as children or as adults have been sexually abused. Taught by Peggy Foster, Janis Duvall and Christine Sain, the class serves as a support class for victims of sexual crimes.

The group recently completed its first full course, which incorporates a nine-step process of “restoration,” taught from “The Becomers,” a course written by a counseling group from Michigan, and will begin a second session Sept. 21 at Main Street Mission in Russellville.

“We don’t even call it healing,” Foster said. “We call it restoration because sometimes you never get completely past the things that have happened. There are a lot of effects that come from sexual abuse — shame, depression, self-mutilation. The first step is acknowledgment. The second step is having a safe place to have a voice.”

Foster said the idea of limiting the course to victims is intended to create a safe environment, which she believes is essential.

“It’s just so when a woman comes in — no matter what she says — it’s with people who have experience so they have a safe place to talk,” Foster said. “Then they’re able to learn that the shame is not theirs but the perpetrator’s. They realize that because of sexual abuse there are a lot of things that are triggers.

“As we’ve studied to prepare ourselves for this group, we found out we were having reactions to normal living in a way that other people didn’t react, and it was because of the abuse that we had been through. After going through the group, we were able to recognize those triggers and react like we’re supposed to instead of real weird.”

Duvall said discussions, which are encouraged during an initial lecture period as well as during a designated discussion period following the lesson, are limited to general terms.

Foster stresses the process is confidential, with participants signing agreements not to share any information divulged during the meetings.

“We sign a confidentiality agreement at the beginning of the course. We make sure they understand that what happens in the class stays in the class. We don’t share their name or information outside of class and we asked them to do the same in return. That way it stays a safe place,” Foster said.

The meetings are 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Foster said the program was initially designed to last 10 weeks, but through the first session, the three realized some topics might require more time.

“Now we don’t really have an end date because — depending on the group — there are some weeks when we need to slow down with one particular issue,” Foster said. “With another group, we may have to slow down at another area. We leave it open-ended as far as how long the group sessions meet. Probably about 20 weeks per program.”

Foster said the three women also began a training session at The Journey in Russellville so members of that church can host the program at their facilities, but she said the course shouldn’t be limited to churches. The group is also seeking a neutral site for a night session.

“We can hold these classes at churches — wherever someone would like for us to hold it,” Foster said. “If a church would like for us to hold it for some of their ladies, we can meet with that church. We don’t want it to be limited to churches. We want to get it out there. ... We would like to find a nondenominational location where we can meet one night a week. We’d love to be able to have a night session for ladies who work.”

As a victim of sexual abuse at an early age who didn’t speak openly about her abuse until mid-adulthood, Foster felt it was her calling to help other victims.

“Most people who have been sexually abused never speak up until they are 40 years old. I was in my mid-50s before I ever spoke of it,” Foster said. “After that, it was just something I felt like the Lord was drawing me into. I realized there were so many women — statistics say one out of three women have been sexually abused before they’re 18 years old. If a woman has been sexually abused once, she has a two out of three chance to be sexually abused more than once. After I realized how large an impact it had not only on my life but the other women who were around me, I just felt a directive from the Lord that I needed to do this. He sent along Janis and Christine. We’ve worked together for about a year to develop the program and to get it to where we are today.”

Sain said the course has been just as enlightening for the teachers as it has been for participants.

“It really helped me being able to relate, knowing there were other ladies who had been through the same thing,” Sain said. “The way it’s designed makes a difference. They do have a voice and being able to talk to other women who have dealt with the same thing, I don’t feel that shame as much. Just being able to relate and think ‘I’m not going through this by myself.’ It is a support group.”

“It’s support for people who feel alone because lots of people who have been abused feel like they’re going through it by themselves. This gives them a chance to connect with others,” Duvall added.

Foster said the course is for any woman who has been sexually abused, whether as an adult or as a child.

“There are women who are in sexually abusive relationships,” Foster said. “The healing process is the same. The majority of us were sexually abused as children, but being sexually abused as a child opens us up to choose relationships that cause further abuse as an adult.”

Foster said the fact the teachers were abused helps their ability to assist their students.

“We can relate to them: ‘This works and this doesn’t work. You are a valuable person.’” Foster said. “A lot of times women who have been abused take the abuse so that they become the abuse instead of letting it be what happened to them. Because we’ve been there, we are able to let them know there is a better life.”

Though Foster is an associate pastor at Bells Chapel Assembly of God in Atkins, she stresses the material covered in the course is nondenominational.

“It doesn’t have a denominational boundary. We are faith-based. We want that to be known, but the material is nondenominational. We just want to be able to help women if they’re Christian or if they’re not Christian. They can be Assembly of God, Baptist, Methodist, Muslim — it doesn’t matter. The things we offer to them just cross all boundaries,” Foster said.

For more information on Fostering Hope, call 970-9595, 970-1998 or 858-1487.